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Johnny
Gordon
Downs Jangala
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Johnny
is one of the senior law men at Balgo Hills (WA). He is also one of a
group of artists that includes such illustrious names as Johnny
Mosquito, Sunfly Jampitjin, Richard Tax and Donkeyman Lee. Johnny
has been described as ‘a master of the style’ which involves
‘invoking striking visual tensions by the use of striations or
parallel lines.’ (James Cowan ‘Wirrimanu’, p60). His
main dreamings are Tingarri and water, The source of these dreamings
is centered on ‘Milpinlilli’ a waterhole south of Balgo. He
frequently paints this rockhole which is hidden amongst the sandhills.
In his mythology he tells how this rockhole was created by the Rainbow
Snake in the Dreamtime. Another favored dreaming is ‘Mimintilli’ a
low-lying swamp area surrounded by hills which was his father’s
country. This place has powerful associations with the Tingarri cycle,
the major story of the creation spirits for the desert people That
still roam and reside in this county. He
is obsessed with landforms that create striking visual imagery. As
James Cowan points out, Johnny is often concerned with obscuring the
major images in his work by confusing the retina of the eye with
dazzling pattern. There
are may fine painters at Balgo Hills who work in a way which is
colorful, attractive and dynamic. The painters there, however, retain
their close links with the land and their creation myths. Since the
late 1980’s Johnny Gordon Downs has held a prominence amongst the
artists of this community. His
work is represented in major collections throughout Australia and the
USA. Publications: Cowan,
James, Wirrimanu,
Craftman House, Sydney, 1994. |
